09.04.08
J&J Acquires China’s Dabao Cosmetics Co. Ltd.
CHINA:
Johnson & Johnson (China) Investment Co., Ltd. has acquired Beijing Dabao Cosmetics Co., Ltd., which touts a wide range of personal care brands in the country, including brands such as Sod Milk, Beauty Day Cream and Sod Protein Milk.“Dabao is a successful brand in the China market, and a brand we respect. We plan to develop the brand further with the help of Dabao’s unsurpassed local market knowledge and our experience in marketing, research and product innovation,” said Jesse Wu, president of Johnson & Johnson (China) Investment Co., Ltd. “This transaction is an extension of our commitment to China, and to the continued development of China’s consumer health care sector.”
J&J, which established its first joint venture in China in 1985, also sells Johnson’s Baby, Neutrogena and Clean & Clear products in the country.
Lion Corp. Commits to ‘Eco First’ Program
JAPAN:
In response to the Eco First Program being promoted by the Ministry of the Environment, Lion Corp. has unveiled its medium- to long-term environmental protection goals, which stress environment-friendly products as part of Lion’s “Eco First Commitment” to the Minister of the Environment.Unfurling its vision of becoming “the leading company in environmental friendliness,” Lion unveiled the five pillars of the “Eco Lion” environmental protection activities. They are: reduce greenhouse gas emissions, effectively use and recycle resources, considering the environment from a product-oriented perspective, appropriately handling chemical substances and fostering environmental awareness within the Lion Group.
Lauder Takes Stake in Forest Essentials
INDIA:
The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has purchased a minority stake in Forest Essentials, a privately held Indian company that manufactures, markets and sells beauty products based on Ayurvedic formulations. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.Forest Essentials, which was founded in 2000 by Mira Kulkarni, uses pure essential oils and natural plant extracts in its range of skin, body and hair care products. Its portfolio consists of more than 100 SKUs sold in seven freestanding stores and in high-end hotels and spas across India. According to Kline & Company, Forest Essentials holds an 18.4% share in the burgeoning Indian spa market, which is expected to grow by more than 13% annually through 2012.
“Forest Essentials gives us a stronger presence in the rapidly expanding prestige beauty business in India,” said William P. Lauder, chief executive officer of The Estée Lauder Companies. “We have seen how more and more consumers around the world are interested in beauty products with a natural heritage. This agreement will help us expand our growing expertise and competitiveness in the natural products arena while Forest Essentials will benefit from our long history of successful brand management and global expansion.”
Lauder began selling its products in India in mid 2005 with the opening of a freestanding MAC store in Mumbai. Today, it offers Indian consumers six brands—MAC, Tommy Hilfiger, Donna Karan, Aramis, Clinique and most recently, Estée Lauder.
According to Kline & Company, the acquisition not only gives Lauder a stake in the country’s leading spa brand, but may also pave the way for Forest Essentials to expand globally. In addition, Kline’s consultants predict the move could spur future expansion in Lauder’s specialty retail strategy to capture a bigger piece of the $6.3 billion personal care market in India.
“Estée Lauder has not previously had a strong brand presence in the naturals market here,” said Ali Khan, director of Kline’s India office. “This move allows them to test the waters for expansion by partnering with a local company to gain a bigger presence and to experiment in the Ayurvedic naturals market, which is very popular among both natives and visitors to luxury spas.”
Cosmoprof Asia is Nov. 12-14
HONG KONG: Cosmoprof Asia will be held Nov. 12-14 at the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Center. The show will cover 48,000 square meters with exhibitors from 40 countries and regions as well as 17 national and group pavilions. Show organizers expect 40,000 visitors from approximately 100 countries to attend.
As a result of the continuous growth of Cosmoprof Asia, and in order to provide buyers and visitors with a tailor-made and more effective sourcing platform, the organizer divided all exhibits into five themed sectors. They are: Cosmoprof Asia Retail-Distribution (perfumery, cosmetics and toiletries); Cosmoprof Asia Natural Health: the Asian laboratory to healthy living; Cosmoprof Asia Pack (packaging, raw materials, machinery, private label and contract manufacturing); Cosmoprof Asia Beauty Salon (beauty salon products and equipment for professional use) and Cosmoprof Asia Hair Salon (hair salon products and equipment for professional use).
There will also be education opportunities, including sessions such as “Personal Care & Cosmetics Ingredients Seminar,” which aims to educate and guide personal care/cosmetic product participant enterprises about the relevant technology and application issues in the industry relating to the market, regulations, ingredients, R&D and processing, etc. Another topic is “How to Enter the Chinese Cosmetics Market–Regulations and Problems,” which will provide a comprehensive overview of all rules and regulation, as well as related solutions, that professionals are required to know in order to enter the Chinese cosmetics market.
More info: www.cosmoprof-asia.com
Cognis Sells Stake in Oleochemical JV
SINGAPORE:
Cognis has sold its 50% stake in Cognis Oleochemicals, a joint venture with Sime Darby Plantation Sdn Bhd, to PTT Chemical International Private Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of PTT Chemical Public Company Limited. The deal was valued at approximately $152 million in cash.Cognis Oleochemicals, which produces natural-based oleochemical products in production sites in Europe, North America and Asia, recorded sales of just over $1 billion, including approximately $190 million in deliveries to Cognis, in 2007.
The sale “reflects our strategy to consistently concentrate on the innovation-driven growth markets of wellness and sustainability. On the basis of our excellent experiences with Sime Darby and PTT Chemical over many years, we are convinced that the new joint venture offers synergies that will help Oleochemicals to further develop its businesses,” said Antonio Trius, chief executive officer of Cognis. The unit will continue to operate as Cognis Oleochemicals until a new name is established.
NPD Launches BeautyTrends Service in Spain
SPAIN:
The NPD Group Inc. has launched its BeautyTrends panel in Spain to measure the prestige beauty market through retail sell-through data. NPD BeautyTrends and IRI InfoScan have also joined efforts to offer the most comprehensive vision of the Spanish beauty market, prestige beauty by NPD and the beauty mass market by IRI.The first data delivery is scheduled in early 2009 with two years of historical data. The new service will track fragrance, makeup and skin care sales from the category to the EAN/SKU level. Data will be collected weekly from flagship selective chains and independent doors. NPD offers manufacturers a structured database including a wide range of measures from sales, price and distribution (numerical and weighted, item number). NPD also provides analysis, such as performance of new launches, gift sets, size formats and individual shade colors.
The new service complements NPD’s existing BeautyTrends services in the U.S., France, Italy and China.
“With the extension of Beauty-Trends in Spain, NPD demonstrates its willingness to track markets and its capacity to serve clients at the global level. Our ambition is to develop a comprehensive offer responding to our clients’ needs,” said Claude Charbit, president of NPD Global Beauty.
More info: www.npd.com
Smaller Packages, Same Price for Detergents
JAPAN:
Leading detergent makers are embarking on changes that effectively raise prices of their powder detergent products.According to reports, Procter & Gamble Japan KK will maintain the price of its Bold detergent but will cut it by 100g a package to 1kg starting with September shipments. The company says the repackaged product will feature improvements. The move marks P&G Japan’s first price hike this year. Likewise, Kao will reduce its New Beads with fabric softener to 1kg from 1.1kg and keep the retail price the same. Kao took similar steps with its Attack brand in June.
Earlier this spring, Lion Corp. reduced the size of its Blue Dia detergent offering.
Laboratoires Sérobiologiques To Present at In-Cosmetics
INDIA: At In-Cosmetics India 2008, which will be held Sept. 17-18 in Mumbai, Cognis Care Chemicals and Laboratoires Sérobiologiques (LS) will present a variety of natural-based personal care and home care ingredients that are in line with the Green Chemical Solutions classification system which shows the natural and renewable content of each Care Chemicals’ raw material. These products include a highly concentrated vegetable-based microemulsion ideal for cold processable, effective cleansing and care applications particularly for wet wipe concepts; a “green” pearlizing wax dispersion for hair and body cleansing formulations based on mild Cognis’ APG surfactants that serves the trend toward natural beauty products; a range of sugar surfactants for extraordinary mild skin and hair cleansing; and a preservative-free vegetal hair growth inhibitor.
Boots Inks Deal in India, Adds Summer No. 7 Range in Dubai
INDIA:
Boots Company has inked a deal with Reliance Retail (RRL) to enter India’s health and wellness market. The two firms have formed a JV for wholesale business and will operate stores through a franchisee agreement.In other news, Boots has unveiled a new line of No. 7 summer cosmetics in Dubai. The new collection features colors that are a throwback to the 1970s, including a No. 7 Rainbow Eye Palette, which contains seven essential summer colors including rich teal, hazy purple, shimmering pink and sandy yellow.
Good Weather Boosts Godrej’s Keyline Sales
UNITED KINGDOM:
Sunny weather in the British Isles has led UK-based Keyline Brands, owned by India’s Godrej Group, to grow more than 60% this year. Products such as Perspirex antiperspirant and P-20 sun care have been doing well, primarily due to the absence of UK’s typical gray weather. In addition, brands such as Bio Oil, which combats stretch marks, and Cuticura hand sanitizers have also recorded significant growth compared to previous years in spite of the slowdown in the UK market.In other news, Godrej Group has decided to pull the plug on the national launch of Godrej No. 1 shampoo in India due to established competition in the category.
Singapore To Host In-Cosmetics Asia 2009
SINGAPORE:
In-Cosmetics has announced details of its 2009 show in Asia as well as a new collaboration with the IFSCC’s 2009 Conference. In keeping with its tradition of rotating around Asia—including Bangkok this November—the next In-Cosmetics Asia event will be held at the Singapore Expo from Oct. 13-15, 2009. Show organizers are anticipating a sizeable contingent of IFSCC delegates stopping over in Singapore following IFSCC’s “Corroboree of Science and Beauty” conference, which will be held in Melbourne, Australia on Oct. 7-9, 2009). IFSCC conference delegates will be invited to In-Cosmetics Asia 2009 to connect with the latest technological and commercial aspects of the industry.“We are delighted with this new partnership. With this guest program, IFSCC delegates will be able to maximize their time in the region, combining scientific theory and face-to-face engagement with Asia’s key industry players in Asia,” said Richard Hesk, group exhibition director, In-Cosmetics Group.
Gavin Greenoak, who will become president of the IFSCC at the Melbourne conference, added: “The IFSCC and the In-Cosmetics Group have been running highly successful and separate events for a long time. With the IFSCC’s 50th anniversary in Melbourne and In-Cosmetics Asia in Singapore back-to-back, we will be able to showcase how these mature organizations can now work well together.”
More info: www.in-cosmeticsasia.com
Kaya Opens Eighth Skin Clinic
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES:
Kaya Skin Clinic, an international chain of skin clinics, has opened a new branch in the Al Buhaira Corniche, Sharjah. The new spot, Kaya Skin Clinic’s eighth in the UAE, will provide an entire range of skin and hair care services. Kaya may also offer a range of skin care products, according to published reports.Paris To Host 20th Anniversary In-Cosmetics Show
FRANCE:
Mark your calendars! In-Cosmetics will celebrate its 20th anniversary in Paris, Porte de Versailles, April 13-15, 2010.The first In-Cosmetics, held in 1990 in Birmingham, UK attracted 900 visitors and 60-plus exhibitors. Today, the event attracts more 6000 industry professionals from 100 countries visiting some 450 international exhibiting companies. Next year, In-Cosmetics will be held in Munich, April 21-23.
More info: